And Still the Earth Turns

And Still the Earth Turns

By Muhammad Ali Bandial

Genre:-General Fiction

Publisher:-The Book Guild

Blurb:-How far would you go for the one you love?

Qasim has everything planned out:a bright future, the love of a girl who shares his dreams, and a loving family. But all that changes in a matter of seconds.

 On a Thursday evening, two suicide bombers blow themselves up in the middle of a crowded religious shrine in Lahore's famous Anarkali market. Qasim and Asma, two people from opposite ends of society, are wrenched apart in the cataclysmic upheaval caused by the explosion.

 Spanning years and stretching from the busy streets of Lahore to the rugged and desolate mountains of Swat, each must chart a way through the wreckage and find their way back to each other. This is a story of finding one's identity, of holding onto love, and knowing when to let go.

Excerpt

The first blast ripped through the crowded bazaar, breaking glasses in all the shops and cars parked nearby. Two streets downwards, Mustafa was knocked off his feet by the impact. There was an immediate uproar.

 As he got up, his ears ringing loudly, Mustafa walked out of the shop in a daze, not even caring to lock the door; his eyes met with Riaz. There was widespread fear in the latter's eyes. Without a word, both ran towards the noise.

 Riaz had a head start on him, and after a few meters, Mustafa's smoking habits caught uo to him and he could go no further, bent over, clutching his stomach. as he watched the fast disappearing back of Riaz, his eyes detected a flicker of movement further away.

 He squinted in the fast-fading light and billowing smoke and saw something that sent shivers down his spine. There was no mistaking it. Even in the melee and chaos, the white robe and turban standing motionless was unmistakable.

 It was another boy, dressed just like the first one Mustafa had seen. The boy stood in the middle of the wild, rushing orgy of people. Like a statue, he stood absolutely still, almost as if he did not care or as if he was drugged. One of the people around the boy noticed him standing, holding his wrist. Someone shouted and everyone began to turn.

 Mustafa opened his mouth to shout.

Complete darkness enveloped him as he was lifted off the ground and thrown back through the glass into the shop.

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